The legendary Stanley Kubrick's first feature film finally makes its way to Blu-ray, after being virtually unseen since it first showed up in theaters back in 1953. The fact that Kino has thrown in a documentary short by Kubrick as well, makes this realease one of the easier purchasing decisions of the year.

Movie Grade: B+

DVD Grade: B

Stanley Kubrick fans, rejoice! You can finally own each and every one of the masterís films on Blu-
ray, now that his first feature film, 1953ís Fear and Desire, has made its way to the format, courtesy of Kino.
Weíve been fortunate enough to enjoy splendid Blu-ray discs of The Killing/Killerís Kiss and Paths of Glory
from The Criterion Collection, and the comprehensive Stanley Kubrick Limited Edition Collection from Warner,
which contains the rest of his illustrious filmography. Fear and Desire is, easily, the least-known and least-watched
of Kubrickís features, but it certainly serves as a suitable introduction to the legend, and is a great, albeit brief,
glimpse at what his future masterworks had in store for cinema history. It hasnít been widely seen or watched for a
good reason; it simply hasnít (officially) been available on home video until now.

Kubrick weaves the story of four U.S. soldiers who are stuck behind enemy lines, and are attempting to build a raft
in order to float down the river to friendly territory. The quartet is led by Lieutenant Corby (Kenneth Harp), and
includes Sgt. Mac (Frank Silvera), Pvt. Fletcher (Stephen Colt), and Pvt. Sidney (Paul Mazursky), an interesting mix
of personalities that canít escape the nature of man and the tendency to fight violently both amongst themselves,
and randomly against others whom they feel are their enemies. They eventually come across a beautiful peasant
girl (Virginia Leith), whom they essentially take prisoner. When one of the men loses his mind, things spiral out of
control and no one, let alone an opposing General and his men, are safe from harm.

The best way to appreciate Kubrickís flawed, inaugural piece is by viewing it as an unaired Twilight Zone episode
that just so happened to be filmed by the greatest filmmaker of all-time. Kicking off with a voice-over by Lt.
Corby, and sometimes incorporating all four soldiers providing similar monologues, the film has an overriding
creepiness to it that is difficult to shake. Things really take a turn for the disturbing when Pvt. Sidney is left to care
for the captive peasant girl, and spirals into madness, seemingly rambling on with no one (the girl canít speak
English, which heís well-aware of), and eventually performing a heinous act that heís not even really aware that he
was responsible for. Pvt. Sidney is portrayed by none other than Paul Mazursky, the actor-turned-director who went
on to helm Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Down and Out in Beverly Hills. He steals the show in the little, yet
powerful scene heís given the spotlight in, and elevates Kubrickís film to another level, at least for a bit. Otherwise,
this is, indeed, an uneven piece, but the curiosity of the Kubrickís-first-film angle, make it a long-time-coming for his
legion of fans.

Given that, until now, Fear and Desire has only been seen on bootleg DVDs and dupes of VHS tapes, it isnít too
surprising that this 1080p transfer looks far better than it should given the age and lack of abundant source
material. Utilizing a 35mm print, painstakingly restored by the Library of Congress, the image is such that thereís
no doubt the film is nearly 60-years-old. Most of the debris and inherent grain and dirt have been left untouched,
but the image clarity is excellent and blacks and contrast levels are solid enough to make this, easily, the best the
film has ever looked. The Linear PCM 2.0 stereo track seems to benefit from a bit more rework than the video, and
with outstanding results, presenting a balanced mix with wonderfully blended music, dialogue, and sound effects
that always work together harmoniously. The lone extra comes to us in the form of The Seafarers, Kubrickís 1953
documentary short (28-minutes long), which was also the first film he shot in color. It was produced for the
Seafarers Union just after the 1953 release of Fear and Desire, and is really only worth a look if you're interested in the SIU.